interviews

What this skill does

# Interviews

Help the founder run the full customer discovery interview loop — from preparing a script to analyzing what was said afterward.

This skill covers two phases:

1. **Script management** — drafting, refining, and managing the lifecycle of reusable interview scripts.
2. **Transcript analysis** — after an interview has happened, extracting statements, linking them to hypotheses, reviewing the founder's interviewing technique, and recommending hypothesis state changes.

An interview script is a reusable guide, not a teleprompter: it anchors the conversation around the assumptions being tested while leaving room for the founder to follow threads that open up. Most founders need one script for their primary segment; occasionally a second script for an adjacent segment.

## Before you start

Read `startup/core.md` to load project context (name, seed description, and all fields under `## Core` — especially `Audience`).

Check if `startup/interview-scripts/` contains any `.md` files.

Scaffold the folders if they don't exist yet:
```bash
mkdir -p startup/interview-scripts
mkdir -p startup/interviews/transcripts
```

---

## When scripts already exist

Load and understand them for context. Infer intent from the conversation — don't mechanically ask "what do you want to do?" If the founder is:

- **Referring to a specific script** — load that file, discuss, help edit the relevant section
- **Iterating after running interviews** — help revise questions that didn't land, add follow-ups that proved useful, tighten or expand as needed
- **Drafting a script for a different segment** — start a new script (route to the reference file below if they want a guided draft, or draft directly if they know what they want)
- **Changing status** — read the file, propose the change, write it back
  - `draft` — still being shaped, not yet used
  - `ready` — actively in use for interviews
  - `retired` — superseded or no longer in rotation

When adding or updating scripts, follow the file conventions:
- YAML frontmatter with `status` (`draft`, `ready`, `retired`), `length_minutes` (number — 15/30/45/60), and `target_persona` (one-line segment descriptor)
- H1 heading: script title — segment + focus, e.g. "Freelance designers — invoice chasing"
- `## Target Persona` — 2–4 sentences describing who this script is for and why
- `## Opening` — what the founder says at the start: purpose, consent to record, framing
- `## Core Questions` — numbered questions with optional indented probes
- `## Closing` — wrap-up, referrals ask, thank-you
- Optional `## Notes` — facilitation tips for the founder

**Slug convention:** lowercase the title, replace spaces and non-alphanumeric characters with hyphens, collapse multiple hyphens. "Freelance designers — invoice chasing" → `freelance-designers-invoice-chasing`.

Read before writing, propose before saving, get confirmation.

---

## When no scripts exist

Check prerequisites:

- **`core.md` is missing or has no `Audience` or similar information that provides this information under `## Core`:** Mention that a defined target audience sharpens the script considerably — suggest filling that in first (via the `whats-next` skill or directly in `core.md`). Do not block: if the founder wants to proceed with a rough persona, proceed.

- **`startup/hypotheses/` is empty or has fewer than 3 hypotheses:** Mention that scripts work best when they're built around specific hypotheses to test — suggest invoking the `hypotheses` skill first. Do not block: if the founder insists on drafting a script now, proceed.

- **Prerequisites met (or founder insists):** Load the reference file for the guided script-creation conversation:

```
.claude/skills/interviews/references/initial-interview-script.md
```

The reference file's instructions take over from this point.

---

## When a transcript arrives

After the founder runs an interview, they may bring back a transcript, paste text into chat, or simply recount a conversation from memory. In any of these cases, the workflow is the same: save the source material, dispatch the `interview-analyst` subagent, then dispatch the `hypotheses-manager` subagent, surface recommendations to the founder, and route confirmed hypothesis changes through the `hypotheses` skill.

Recognize this intent when the founder:
- Points at a transcript file under `startup/interviews/transcripts/` (or similar)
- Pastes transcript-shaped text (dialogue, Q&A, long monologue) into chat
- Describes a conversation from memory ("I talked to someone at a coffee shop…", "I had a call with a designer and she said…")
- Asks to analyze, review, or extract insights from a completed interview

Load the Layer 2 reference file that owns this workflow end-to-end:

```
.claude/skills/interviews/references/transcript-analysis.md
```

The reference file's instructions take over from this point, including the three input branches (file / pasted / recollection), dispatching both subagents, summarizing to the founder, and routing confirmed edits through the `hypotheses` skill.

**Do not extract statements, evaluate hypothesis state, or edit hypothesis files yourself** — the reference file describes how to delegate that work to the two subagents.